Film Comment Readers Pick Films of the Year

Here is a list of the Best Films of 2009, according to readers of "Film Comment," which includes myself.

The current issue with Matt Damon on the cover has a brilliant profile of controversial French director Catherine Breillat by one of the cinema writers of our time Amy Taubin.

My overall pick for Film of the Year was "Up in the Air," which finished eighth in the poll. Amazingly enough, "The Hurt Locker" was not only the top choice in both the critics and readers poll, it also won the Best Picture Oscar!:


1. "The Hurt Locker" (dir. Kathryn Bigelow)

2. "Inglourious Basterds" (dir. Quentin Tarantino, pictured)

3. "A Serious Man" (dir. Coen Bros)

4. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (dir. Wes Anderson)

5. "Summer Hours" (dir. Olivier Assayas, France)

6. "The White Ribbon" (dir. Michael Haneke, Germany)

7. "Up" (dir. Peter Docter and Bob Peterson)

8. "Up in the Air" (dir. Jason Reitman)

9. "The Headless Woman" (dir. Lucrecia Martel, Argentina)

10. "Where the Wild Things Are" (dir. Spike Jonze)


"The White Ribbon," which I am extremely eager to see now that it has finally opened in our market here in North Carolina, is the only film I haven't seen from this list.

My 25 Best Films of 2009 (second draft)

"Up in the Air" is my film of the year, and I am pleased that my friend Joe Scott a film enthuiast/critic in Greensboro, NC, has agreed with me. "Film Comment" magazine named "The Hurt Locker" best film of the year in their annual survey.

Here is a slightly updated film from an entry I posted in December:

1. "Up in the Air"
2. "The Lovely Bones"
3. "Bruno"
4. "Three Monkeys" (Turkey)
5. "The Fantastic Mr. Fox"
6. "An Education"
7. "Sugar"
8. "The Hurt Locker"
9. "Where the Wild Things Are"
10. "A Serious Man"
11. "Cold Souls"
12. "Adventureland"
13. "Summer Hours" (France)
14. "Invictus"
15. "Tyson" (doc)
16. "The Hangover"
17. "The Informant!"
18. "Star Trek"
19. "The Box"
20. "Inglorious Basterds"
21. "Bad Lt: Port Call New Orleans"
22. "Public Enemies"
23. "500 Days of Summer"
24. "Food Inc." (doc)
25. "Up"

My Top Ten Films of the Year (always subject to change-LOL!)

It should be pointed that I live in a smalltown and I usually get to see art films when I'm in Greensboro, Chapel Hill or Raleigh, NC, or in my hometown of Roanoke, Va. But, even when I see films in these cities, they are already second run in New York or LA or even Washington, DC!

I should also apologize to the great Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan as I am just now getting his latest film "The Three Monkeys" from Netflix, and his films always finish high in my lists. But, I will have a chance to update this for "Film Comment" magazine's fan survey by February.

Until then, here are my top ten favorite films of the year, with some titles that just missed the cut listed under honorable mention:

1. Bruno
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox
3. An Education (pictured)
4. Sugar
5. Waltz with Bashir (Israel.)#
6. The Hurt Locker
7. A Serious Man
8. Cold Souls
9. Tyson
10. The Hangover

Honorable Mention:
"Adventureland"
"Capitalism: A Love Story"
"Inglorious Basterds"
"Food Inc."
"Moon"
"The Informant"
"Summer Hours" (France)
"Up"



#- This film was released last year to the Academy and critics, but not for the general public so I am including it here though it will not be on my "Film Comment" list for that reason.

PS- The politically conservative film critic Michael Medved actually named the new Robert Zemekis film "A Christmas Carol" film of the year. We're wondering if he got it mixed up with the uber-right wing slapstick comedy "An American Comedy," which regardless of one's politis is pretty god-awful. Nevertheless, if you want to see "A Christmas Carol" and you live in southwest Virginia, it will be showing at The Lyric Theatre in Blacksburg, Va., starting on Friday.

PPS- As for "An Education," it continues its run this weekend at The Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va., The Chelsea Theatre in Chapel Hill, NC, The Landmark Theatres in Bethesda, Md., and at the Broadway Center Cinemas in Salt Lake City, Utah, among many other places.

Rolling Stone Names "Precious" Film of the Year

I was a bit surprised to see "Rolling Stone" film critic Peter Travers choose the African-American film "Precious" as the best film of 2009. Travers also cited the new George Clooney film "Up in the Air" (only showing in major markets, to my knowledge) and the acclaimed war drama "The Hurt Locker" on his list.

I am working on my own list, but first I need some of these expletive movies!

Here is Travers' list:

1. "Precious"
2. "Up in the Air"
3. "The Hurt Locker"
4. "An Education"
5. "Up"
6. "Where the Wild Things Are"
7. "A Serious Man"
8. "District 9" (I really hated this movie!)
9. " (500) Days of Summer"
10. "The Messenger"